(NewsNation) — A Maryland man who was deported to El Salvador after the Trump administration acknowledged that an administrative error led to his removal must be returned to the U.S. by next week, a federal judge ruled Friday.
U.S. District Court Judge Paula Xinis ordered that the U.S. government must take steps to ensure that Kilmar Abrego Garcia, who is a Salvadoran migrant, be returned to the U.S. by April 7, Reuters reported. In her ruling, Xinis called Abrego Garcia’s deportation “an illegal act.”
On Saturday, Justice Department lawyers asked the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to immediately pause the judge’s order.
“A judicial order that forces the Executive to engage with a foreign power in a certain way, let alone compel a certain action by a foreign sovereign, is constitutionally intolerable,” they wrote.
The appeals court asked Abrego Garcia’s lawyers to respond to the government’s filing by Sunday afternoon.
Abrego Garcia had been living in the United States legally and had obtained a work permit when he was deported. But after admitting the error that led the man to be deported, government officials said that they did not have the authority to bring him back to the United States.
“They admit they had no legal authorization to remove him to El Salvador,” one of Abrego Garcia’s attorneys, Simon Sandoval-Moshenberg, said at the hearing. “The public interest lies in the government following the law.”
An attorney for the government said that the error involved in deporting Abrego Garcia is “not in dispute.”
During Friday’s hearing, Justice Department attorney Erez Reuveni conceded to Xinis that Abrego Garcia should not have been removed from the U.S. or sent to El Salvador. Reuveni could not tell the judge upon what authority he was arrested in Maryland.
“I’m also frustrated that I have no answers for you for a lot of these questions,” he said.
Reuveni’s name was not on Saturday’s court filing. A department spokesperson confirmed to NewsNation that he was placed on leave.
“At my direction, every Department of Justice attorney is required to zealously advocate on behalf of the United States. Any attorney who fails to abide by this direction will face consequences,” Attorney General Pam Bondi said in a statement.
Abrego Garcia was detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement on March 12 and was questioned about possible ties to the MS-13 gang. Abrego Garcia disputed any connection to the gang but was still among those whom the government flew to El Salvador.
Trump administration officials have continued to say he was an MS-13 gang member and said they could not rectify the administrative error that put him on the plane to El Salvador.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a statement after Friday’s ruling, “We suggest the Judge contact President @nayibbukele (Nayib Bukele) because we are unaware of the judge having jurisdiction or authority over the country of El Salvador.”
Reuters reported that an ICE official wrote in a court filing that Abrego Garcia was wrongfully put on the flight despite a 2019 court order that protected him from deportation.
USA Today reported that Abego Garcia was arrested in 2019 outside of a Home Depot where he was looking for work. An informant told immigration agents that Abrego Garcia was an active MS-13 gang member.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.